


Please, come in.

by Markimoo



Category: Markiplier RPF, mark fischbach - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Multi, Reader-Insert, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 12:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3173798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markimoo/pseuds/Markimoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're 22, living by yourself, and making your own money. You decide that it's about time that you go to your first con! You go with one of your best friends whom you have a huge crush on and you're going to be sharing a hotel room with him for five whole days. What can possibly go wrong?   </p><p>     I'm trying to make this fic as gender-neutral as possible. Standard reader-insert codes apply and will be addressed at the top of each chapter!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is just the prologue, but more is for sure on the way! It's gonna start off pretty slow, but it's going to pick up really soon! :}
> 
> And if you don't mind when you're done, tell me what you think in a comment!
> 
> [Y/N] = Your name
> 
> Thank you and I hope you enjoy!!!

       Even though you've been living in California all your life, you've never been to a convention. Not because you didn't want to, but because you weren't able to. Things like ComicCon and VidCon were far too expensive for a high school student, especially one without a job and parents who weren't willing to fork over the huge chunk of cash in order to let you go. But now since you're 22, living on your own in your Los Angeles apartment, making your own money, and don't have to rely on your parents financially anymore aside from college, you are finally ready to go to your first con!

       You had decided that your first con would be MAGfest in San Jose, California. It would be a perfect first con experience for you! There would be tons of guests and performers doing panels that year such as JonTron, Game Grumps, Brentalfloss, and, a newcomer who you were most excited for, Markiplier. It would be four whole days of absolute excitement.

       Of course, even though you were making a good amount of money at your job, MAGfest tickets and a hotel to stay at for 5 days was still super hella expensive. Which is why you decided to go along with your friend Michael and split the costs of the hotel room together. Michael is tall, tan, mildly muscular, and has dark brown hair. He's been a very good friend of yours since your freshman year of high school and he is also one of your only friends who is a huge fan of the YouTube gaming community like you are.

     It was the night before you and Michael leave for MAGfest. You guys would have to leave around 9 AM if you wanted to make it to your hotel at a decent time. It was 8 at night and you were in the bedroom of your apartment just getting the last of your stuff packed for the five day trip. You had packed a duffel of clothes and necessities and a backpack full of other items to help you survive the trip, such as water, snacks, and medicine, just in case. You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You swiped to unlock it and saw that it was a text from Michael.

      **Michael :** Ayyy [Y/N] are you all ready for tomorrow?

     You smiled and quickly replied:

    ** [Y/N]:** Yeah man I just got all my stuff packed. U?

      **Michael:** I just got done packing. I'll be picking you up around 9 ok so be ready

    ** [Y/N]:** Aight Mike sounds great I can't wait :D

      **Michael:** K I'm going to bed don't stay up late ok luv u bruh night :^)

      **[Y/N]:** Ok man. Goodnight!

     You smiled as you hooked your phone up to your charger and set it down on your bedside table so it could charge for the night. To be quite honest, you had a huge crush on Michael. He was really good looking and cute and your personalities just felt like they clicked together. He was funny and nice to you and always a riot to talk to. And starting tomorrow, you were going to be in a hotel for five whole days. Alone. With him.

      _“...Maybe something will come out of this...”_ you thought to yourself. You began to blush at the possibility. You shook your head and called the notion ridiculous as you took off your pants and changed into a sleep shirt so you could get ready to shut down for the night. You plopped down on your queen-sized bed, pulled up your laptop, and settled in to watch some YouTube videos before going to sleep. You immediately pulled up Markiplier's videos from your subscriptions list and scrolled until you found the video that you were in the middle of watching earlier, part 4 of his Misao playthrough.

     As you watched the video you drifted into your thoughts. You were going to see Markiplier at MAGfest in person. The thought made you feel giddy inside. You gazed dreamily at the screen as you listened to the lovely and extremely expressive voice that belonged to Mark. When he did his signature outro and “bye bye!” which signaled the end of the video, you decided that it would be a good time to retire for the night. You shut down and closed your laptop and put it in your backpack for tomorrow and you also set up an alarm on your phone for 7:30 AM the following morning. Tomorrow began your little adventure.

    Your eyes slipped shut and your mind that was reeling with excitement and imagination began to slow down and drift off into vague, but happy, dreams.


	2. On The Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're on the road to MAGfest! But is your adventure starting before you even get to your hotel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are starting to take lift off
> 
> [Y/N] = Your name
> 
> Like, comment, subscribe, retweet, and reblog!

     The alarm blared loudly from your iPhone at 7:30 in the morning, effectively pulling you out of your sleeping state. You glared at your phone with tired eyes and reached a hand out from under the covers and almost clawed at the lock screen in order to make the loud alarm stop. As soon as you were able to turn it off you just laid in your bed and breathed into your pillow. You turned around under your comforter to look outside the window to see sunlight beginning to cast a soft glow against the dawn sky. Your groggy mind soon began to wake up. You softly smiled as you completely registered in your head as to why you had woken up so early in the first place.  
  
     You mustered up the strength to pull yourself out of bed and into the bathroom to start taking a shower. You stood under the spray of warm water while you massaged shampoo in your hair and you began to wake up more. You were so excited for today, even though it would just consist of driving and checking in to your hotel, but it was still exciting nevertheless. After you showered and dried yourself off you put on your clothes for the day which consisted of black jeans and a shirt with some pop culture reference on it. Then you went out into the kitchen to make yourself a small breakfast.  
  
     It was around 8:30 when Michael texted you,  
  
    ** Michael:** Heyooo I'm just about to head out see u soon :)  
  
     You grinned to yourself and shot back a quick reply,  
  
      **[Y/N]:  **Ok I can't wait :D  
  
     About a half hour later you heard a knock at your door and you go to open it. You unlock the door and you are greeted with a dazzling smile from Michael that made the butterflies in your stomach flutter like crazy. You two said hi to each other and then, without a word of warning, he pulled you into a hug because you two haven't seen each other for a while. You smiled and hugged him back and tried your hardest not to blush after you two pulled away.  
  
     "Alright man let's get your stuff in my trunk so we can head out." He declared. He strongly insisted that he carry your duffel bag even though you said you could carry it yourself, but in the end he still carried it down to his car and put it in his trunk. You got into the passenger seat of his car and he got into the driver's seat and in no time you guys were off to San Jose. According to your research, the drive to San Jose from Los Angeles is about 5 hours, but you and Michael anticipate the drive to be at least an hour longer because of typical California traffic being the way it is.  
  
     "So who are you exited to see?" Michael asked about 15 minutes into the drive, trying to make casual conversation. You thought for a moment before replying with,  
  
     "I'm really excited to see the Game Grumps, that's gonna be fuckin' rad. But I'm definitely the most excited for Markiplier." you grinned.  
  
     "Oh yeah, Markiplier? Yeah he's gonna be super cool. I'm also so fucking psyched for JonTron though. Man [Y/N], this is gonna be cool as hell." Michael beamed with excitement as he said this. You two continued talking like this for about an hour before you suddenly yawned. You ended up falling asleep and waking up about an hour and a half later. You and Michael then switched seats so you could drive for a bit and he could rest. He fell asleep about an hour later. You listened to him softly snoring and thought it was super cute. About two hours later you were actually pretty close to your destination. About 15 minutes according to the GPS on your phone. 

  
     As you drove down the busy road you very quietly sang to the soft roar of some punk-rock song playing on the radio. The the volume was turned down so Michael could sleep easier. So far everything was going super well. You checked your mirrors, how fast you were going, and then  took a brief look at Michael still sleeping in the passenger seat.  
  
     And then, without much reason, you glanced outside your window.  
  
     You turned your eyes back to the road though. But then your mind suddenly processed what you _think_ you just saw. You averted your eyes from the road for a moment to look out your car window and then back to the road. Your curiosity only heightened.  
  
     There was a red light not too far ahead so you started to lightly press on the brakes. When the car came to a complete stop at the light you worked up the courage to look out the window again. You looked out and did a double-take. But on the second glance you didn't look back because your suspicions were confirmed. Your eyes were wide with surprise and the disbelief that you were seeing what you were seeing and you could feel your heart start to beat faster.  
  
     In the lane to your left, sitting in the car right next to you, was none other than Mark Fischbach.


	3. Pizza Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You arrive at your hotel and talk to Michael over pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think of this chapter like an anime filler episode.
> 
> [Y/N] = Your name
> 
> Italics = Your thoughts
> 
> Enjoy, nerds

     It was him. It was undoubtedly him. The parted hair, the slight scruff, the black rimmed glasses-- it was all him. And he was sitting in the car next to you. It was so bizarre seeing him not on your computer screen. You saw that he started to drive forward, and it didnt really register in your mind as to why. Then 3 seconds later a horn blared loudly behind you, which caused you to flinch and yelp but it finally ripped your attention away from the window to look back in front of you. You've come to realize that the light turned green, causing you to promptly press on the gas and make the car jolt forward. This all happened in the span of a few seconds.

     Michael jumped awake, startled by the sudden loud noise and burst of movement from the car.

    "Wh-what the fu—what's going on?" He stammered, looking around in his dazed state for any sign of danger "Are we okay? What just happened [Y/N]?" he asked, looking at you. Your mind scrambled for an explanation, figuring that he wouldn't even believe you if you said that you were distracted because you saw fucking _Markiplier_ in a car right beside you. You quickly came up with some bullshit excuse,

     "Y-yeah Michael, we're fine. Just some...impatient asshole behind us started honking the second the light turned green." You said with a shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as possible even though your heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. You looked ahead and saw that Mark's car was now in front of you. When did he shift into your lane?

     "Oh, oh ok. Yeah I feel you. People are dicks sometimes." Michael said, completely accepting your excuse. He calmed down from being startled and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He picked up your phone that you had placed on the dashboard to look at the GPS. "Hey, look at this, we're actually super close to our hotel." 

     "Really?" You said, trying to pay attention to Michael and the car in front to you at the same time.

     "Yeah, just keep going straight for half a mile and then it says the hotel will be right on our left. You should be able to just turn in." he said, placing your phone back on the dash. Due to recent events you actually didn't notice that you were that close to your hotel. You suddenly had a thought,

 _"What if Mark is in the same hotel as us?"_ after a moment you brushed away the idea. _"Nah, probably not."_ You glanced to your left and saw a big sign with the name of your hotel on it and turned on your left blinker. _"After all, there are so many hotels around here. It's unlikely that he--"_ your thoughts were cut off by the sight of Mark's car also having its left blinker on and then turning into the hotel's parking lot a moment later. Your jaw dropped a little as you also followed suit. _"What the actual fuc--"_

  
     "What's wrong?" Michael questioned, noticing the strange look on your face. "[Y/N], are you okay?"

     "Y-yeah!" You replied probably a little too quickly. "I-I just...The hotel!" you gestured at it. You were really grasping at straws now "It...It looks much more...nicer than I imagined!" _"What the hell [Y/N] there's no way he's stupid enough to believe that."_ You stared at him, expecting him to bug you to tell him what you were really thinking about. But instead Michael just stared at you for a moment before suddenly laughing.

     "You're such a dork." He concluded, smiling at you.

     You were in utter disbelief that he believed you. But you only inwardly shrugged and just accepted it, trying your hardest to also not blush at the fact that you kind of embarrassed yourself in front of your crush.

     You guys found a parking space, unloaded your belongings, and checked in at the front desk. You silently thanked the fact that you didn't see Mark in the lobby or on your way to your hotel room. You were so starstruck when you saw him in a car in the lane beside you, you're not sure how you'd react seeing him at your hotel. You'd probably make a fool of yourself.

_______________________________________________

     You and Michael finally got into your hotel room using one of the two key-cards given to you. For what you guys paid for, the room was pretty darn decent. It was a hotel room on the 4th floor. The view from the small balcony was nothing to brag about, but the rest of the room was awesome. There was a kind of TV room in the center with a decent sized flat-screen on the wall and off to the side was a small kitchenette. Attached to the wall and slightly separating the kitchenette from the TV room was a counter-top with two bar-stools tucked underneath. And then adjoining the room was the bedroom with two twin beds and the bathroom.You guys took this time to settle in and rest after the long car ride. When 6 P.M. Rolled around 3 hours later you both decided to pick up two pizzas for dinner. You two sat at the counter-top table to eat and watch TV and began to talk about the con and your interests. Soon more personal topics were brought up.

     "You've really never gone out with anyone in high school?" Michael asked after taking another slice out of the box between you.

     "Nope." you replied shaking your head.

     "And no one right now?"

     "No one."

     "Interesting."

     "Why is that?"

     "Well, I just thought..." Michael paused for a moment, thinking about how to word what he was going to say next. "...I'm just surprised, is all. Like you're nice, funny, smart... and not bad looking either." You were surprised by Michael's words.

     "Th-thanks..." you sputtered out. _"Wow, super smooth."_ you chastised yourself, desperately wanting to change the subject. "E-enough talking about me, what about you?"

     "Me? I'm sure you've heard plenty about me from everyone else." He leaned back in his seat. This is true. You've heard quite a bit about Michael from other mutual friends when it came to girls. Be it one night stands or relationships that didnt last more that a few months. He was known to be a bit of a player. But high school was almost four years ago.

     "Okay, but what about now?" You asked, maybe he met someone in college.

     "Haha, nope. Single." He took a sip from his soda can, "Ever since high school my well has run dry. I've met a few girls here and there, but nothing special. Definitely not as crazy as I used to be. And I don't think I will be again. " He reminisced. "All those small flings and month-long relationships meant nothing. I was stupid back then, doing stupid things. I'm looking for something a little more meaningful. And long-term." He gazed at the TV, not really watching it but just for the sake of looking at something.

     You stared down at your lap, chewing at a piece of pizza crust. You took in this new information about Michael and for some reason a little bit of hope sparked in your chest. You know you shouldn't think that there could be the possibility of you and Michael becoming a thing but...

     Michael stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm full. I'm gonna take a shower. Is that alright with you, [Y/N]?" He said, throwing away his paper plate and empty soda can.

     "Oh, uh, yeah, that's cool. Take you're time in there." You said as you shook away your previous thoughts. Michael nodded and left for the bathroom. You cleaned up your side of the table and closed the pizza box.

     It was about 8:30 at night and you thought about your day. You're alone in a hotel room with your crush since highschool, you saw Markiplier on the road, Markiplier is in the _same fucking hotel_ as you, and the information that Michael revealed over dinner about looking for a long-lasting relationship has sank in on you. You sighed to yourself and made your way to the bedroom to fall face-first into your bed. You summed up your day as a whole in your head.

 _"God_ _**damn.** _ _"_

 


	4. Locked out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of the con! You are going to have a great day with Michael! ...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 23 kudos and 415 hits. That's more than I ever could have asked for, especially for my first fic. Thank you so much.
> 
> I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but it's also the longest chapter I wrote. But I hope you enjoy nonetheless!
> 
> That moment when you find out that you were wrong in your research and that MAGfest doesn't even take place in California. lmao woops. Let's just ignore that. And coincidentally, MAGfest started yesterday or something?  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts in the comments! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
> 
> [Y/N] = Your name  
> [Y/F/C] = Your favorite color  
> Italics = Your thoughts/flashbacks/emphasis

     You could feel excitement bubbling inside of you the moment you woke up that morning. So much that you didn't even feel groggy when your alarm began to wail at 9:00. And you certainly weren't going to complain at all about the sight you were presented with the second you opened your eyes.

     Michael also woke up by the sound of your alarm, groaning. He seemed to have tossed off both his blankets and comforter some time during the night because you were in full view of his body. He was completely shirtless. You knew Michael was a little ripped, but God damn. He is toned and not afraid to show it. He also had on loose flannel pajama bottoms that rode down very low on his pelvis to the point where his hip bones were very prominent. And you were able to clearly tell that he was totally commando.

     He did a little stretch and a yawn and looked over to you with bleary eyes. Oh shit, did he see that you were just hardcore checking him out? Your eyes went wide when you noticed this so you quickly averted your gaze. You then got up to grab your clothes for the day in attempt to distract yourself and hide the blush that was starting to manifest itself on your face.

     "Morning, sunshine." You greeted, just not wanting the room to be silent. You pulled out a pair of light grey skinny jeans and your Markiplier shirt with the red 8-bit Markiplier's heroes heart on the left arm sleeve.

     "Morning, asshole. Why is your alarm so loud." He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.

     "Because I knew it would annoy you, darling." You chuckled as you made your way to the bathroom to change. "Now get ready, you know that getting there and checking in will be a huge bitch. 

___________________________

     And what a bitch it was. Though, you were once again relieved that you didn't see Mark in the lobby or something when you and Michael were leaving your hotel. The drive to the convention center was not far or complicated to get to; but the traffic and congestion of cars also trying to get to the same place as you made getting there and finding a parking spot take at least a half hour. And the wait in line for you and Michael to get your weekend pass badges took just as long. But eventually you two were able to freely wander around the convention center floor.

     It was about noon. You two watched the con's opening ceremony and then the convention officially began. You and Michael wandered around the huge vendors room and looked at booths and merchandise, getting a little feel for possible purchases in the near future. You guys later took a moment to stop and look at the convention center map and schedule.

     "I think I wanna take a look at the video game room. What about you?" Michael said while glancing back and forth between the map and schedule.

     "Uhhhhh..." you trailed off. You were a little overwhelmed. There was so much to look at. But at the same time, there was nothing that really peaked your interest. You decided to take a moment to look at the MAGfest Twitter hash tag feed to see what everyone else was planning to go look at.

     You saw a slew of tweets saying something about Mark doing some kind of a meet-up with fans. You went to his Twitter profile to confirm this. The latest tweet from him read:

[ ](http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/yukikurabayashi/media/marrrrkk_zpsecb7ca66.png.html)

     That was about a half hour from now.

 _"If I made my way there now,"_ you thought _"I might be able to beat the horde of people."_ Your heart quickened at the thought of being able to finally meet Mark properly as a fan and get a signature or something.

     "[Y/N]?" Michael broke you out of your train of thought. You looked up at him,

     "Yeah?"

     "Do you know what you wanna do?"

     "Y-yeah. I think I'm just gonna make my way downtown to this Markiplier meet-and-greet that's gonna happen in the courtyard." you decided, slipping your phone into your pocket.

     "Oh, ok. So in that case just text me whenever if you wanna meet up again and prepare for a late lunch or dinner or something. And If we don't, we can just meet at my car. That cool?" Michael asked, folding up his schedule and map and stashing it in his backpack. You nodded,

     "Yeah, that sounds cool. You text me if you need anything too, okay?" You agreed, also doing the same with your papers. Michael gave you a small hug after you agreed to meet up later and then he unexpectedly ruffled your hair and then made his way to the video game room. He ruffled your hair. The cute little act of affection caused you to chuckle. With that and a bit of a blush coloring your cheeks, you shrugged back on your small little backpack filled with various necessities and started to make your way to the convention center's courtyard.

 ____________________________

     Okay, so, you were completely wrong with your notion that you could probably beat the crowd to the meet-and-greet. When you got there it wasn't hard to identify where the small little meet up in the courtyard was; mostly because it wasn't a small meet up at all. You were able to see an army of people also wearing Markiplier shirts, donned with the white 8-bit M and the pink Warfstache that seemed impossible to miss. There were tons of people. You clearly underestimated the fanbase.

     You took out a small [Y/F/C] book from your backpack that was filled with lineless paper that read "Autographs" on the cover. It's a book that you had to get signatures from people you meet. The first few pages were already filled with names of band members of concerts that you've gone to in the past. You brought it with you in hopes of getting a few people that you meet at the convention to sign it, Mark being one of them.

     All of a sudden, you heard a chorus of cheers come from the huge crowd. You looked up and saw what people were hollering about-- Mark. He just ran excitedly into the crowd out of no where, high-fiving and fist-bumping as many people as his hands could reach. He did this so easily, parting the ocean of people so he could get to the center of it all, just by using his presence; as if he was fucking Moses. He was like a very enthusiastic puppy, greeting everyone he could. He then stopped in the middle of the crowd, shaking hands and talking to people, and beginning to sign whatever that that was handed to him with a sharpie. He laughed and did all this with a huge smile.

     It honestly felt like your heart skipped a beat. Yep, it was him. With the glasses, the scruffy face, the hair, his black and red checkered flannel-- that was him. That same guy that was in the same hotel as you. And now you finally had the opportunity to properly meet him. But the problem was that there was so many people surrounding him. And you were basically on the outside border of the crowd. As easy as it was for Mark to get to the center, it was the exact opposite for you. It was damn near impossible. And you didn't have the heart to shove anyone or try to squeeze your way through the crowd. So you decided to be civil and wait for the crowd to dissipate. You began to wait.

     And wait...

     ...and wait...

     ...and-- wait a fucking minute, this crowd wasn't getting any smaller at all! Like, yeah quite a few people have left by now, but majority have stuck around even after talking to him, practically keeping the crowd at its same massive size.

     By now, an hour has passed and you watched Mark sign signature after signature on various items such as shirts and posters. It seemed like his energy didn't even falter, not even for a moment. He talked with everyone with a huge genuine smile and bright eyes.

     You decided that you've been waiting long enough. Autograph book securely in hand, you took a determined step forward. But then suddenly,

     "Alright guys, that's all the time I have! I'm so sorry!!" Mark's loud voice caught the attention of everyone there. Some small groans emitted from the crowd, as many people weren't able to say hi or get things signed like you. But at the same time, everyone understood. "Yes, I'm so so so sorry! But I have to get to a panel! But I absolutely promise that I'll try to do this again and meet as much of you as possible!" He apologized. He began to make his way out of the crowd just as quickly easily as he came in, still fist-bumping and high-fiving people where he could. And then he disappeared from view.

     Even though you completely understood, you were still bummed. Maybe next time you shouldn't be as nice and try to make your way towards the center of the crowd. With a sigh and a shrug, you made your way back into the convention center. During your time there, you went to a few interesting panels such as one about the evolution of game controllers and their efficiency and another one on how to get started on animated films. You went to a few of these panels until around 6 in the evening. Michael hadn't texted you at all, so you shot him a small message,

 ** [Y/N]: **What do you want to get for dinner?

     At this point you were a little hungry and had already munched on a bag of chips that you stashed away in you backpack, but snacks could only stave off a person's hunger for so long. You wandered around the vendors room and bought a shirt, still waiting for Michael to text back. Still nothing after 20 minutes. Maybe he was in the middle of a video game tournament? You made your way to the game room. There was a big Soul Calibur contest, but Michael was no where to be seen. Maybe he was in a panel room and didn't feel his phone? Yeah, maybe that was it. He'll message back later, you're sure of it. You went to a JonTron panel for the next hour and actually somehow managed to get his signature in your book, it was honestly so cool! You were surprised to not find Michael there, because he previously mentioned being excited about seeing JonTron. An hour and a half later and still no response from Michael. You decided to try again.

 **[Y/N]:** You hungry at all?

     Why wasn't he messaging back? Maybe his phone is dead? But you saw him charge it overnight in the hotel room. You sigh, not knowing what to do except explore the con more. You went to a 45 minute panel and all through it you constantly checked your phone. Even after the panel there was still no word from Michael. You were starting to worry now.

 **[Y/N]:** Mike, where are you?

     By now it was almost 8:30 and you were starving. At this point you thought "fuck it" and decided to go get dinner yourself. If Michael wanted dinner then he could get whatever he wanted himself. You decided to make your way over to the food catering provided in the convention center. You took out your wallet and was about to get in line when you heard your name being called. You turned around,

     "Heeeey, [Y/N]!!" your name was drawn out. You looked around for the source, and you found it coming from the person you were trying to get in contact with for hours now. It was Michael and...some girl? They stumbled over to you, their arms were intertwined. You felt a twinge of jealousy ignite in the pit of your stomach at the sight. "Yooo, [Y/N], where've you been?" Michael asked. He sounded a bit...off.

     "...I should be asking you that. Who is this?" you gestured towards the girl practically hanging off of his arm. She was pretty, no doubt. Beautiful, even. Nice and wavy brunette hair, flawless makeup, and an envious body.

     "Oh, her? This is-- this is..." He was obviously drawing a blank. Your eyebrows knitted together. What's wrong with him? He gave up on trying to remember her name. "...What's your name?"

     "It's Sheila!" she giggled back, not offended in the slightest. She had that same air about her as Michael. Michael at that moment pulled you into a type of sloppy three-way hug.

     "Yeeeaaaahhh, Sheila! This is my dawg [Y/N]!" Michael slurred. You paused for a moment in Michael's hug. You could smell his breath and you identified the scent immediately. You pulled away, staring at him,

     "Michael...are you drunk?" You asked, looking at him. Where did he get alcohol? Or, who gave it to him?

     "Fuckin'...I'm not drunk, [Y/N]. I'm just...okay, I had a few drinks." He admitted. He was speaking slow and slurred and trying to use his hands to help him think of words. This dumbass was plastered.

     "Michael, we're going back to our hotel room." You decided, you began to pull him along.

     "ONLY if Sheila comes too!" Michael stated. He was starting to get loud and people were starting to stare. You looked at Sheila. She was just as drunk as he was, using him to help her stand up straight. You sighed, and rolled your eyes. You were in no mood to argue.

     "Fine."

_____________________________________________ 

     You tugged your inebriated friend and his giggling guest to the dark parking lot. Michael was obviously in no state to drive, so you stole his keys from his backpack. He didn't put up much of a fight. Michael and Sheila dove into the back seat on their own accord, giggling. You groaned, but just got into the driver's seat and started the car. You gripped the steering wheel as you drove, not sure how you were feeling about this whole situation.

     You finally made it to the hotel and dragged them into the elevator, up to your floor, and then to your hotel room. You used Michael's key-card to open the door. Michael and Sheila pushed their way past you and into the hotel room. You were about to go in as well, but then Michael turned to you, put his hands on both of your shoulders, and gently pushed you backwards out of the room and into the hallway.

     "M-Michael? What the fu--?" You were confused, what was he doing?

     "We need some priiivacy, [Y/N]. You've gotta understand." He slurred. He then promptly closed the door in your face. You blinked. Taking a moment to register in your mind as to what the _fuck_ just happened. Then panic started to set in. You started to knock on the door. And when no answer came, you knocked harder. Then you eventually started to straight up hit the door.

     "Michael? Michael?! What the hell, let me in!!" You shouted, not caring if people could hear. You heard muffled talking and laughing from inside. "Michael?! Don't you dare do this to me!!" You kept hitting the door. Your heart rate sped up. Whether it was from panic or anger, you couldn't tell. You heard Michael shout from inside.

     "Fuckin'...hold on!" He grumbled. You sighed in relief to yourself, he was finally going to let you in. The door opened and Michael was shirtless and his belt was unbuckled. You were just going to walk into the room, but Michael pushed you back out again. Even when he was drunk he was still far more stronger than you. You looked at him and was about to question what he was doing again until he threw a pillow and a bed sheet at you. "You'll be fine out here." he said before closing the door in your face again.

     He did _not_ just tell you to sleep in the fucking hallway. Before angrily slamming your fists to the door again, you thought for a moment _"Why am I hitting the door?"_ you took your own key-card from your back pocket and used it. The door opened, but it stopped. What the...Michael put on the damn chain lock! You couldn't get in even if you wanted to! You were about to start yelling again, but you looked through the little open space that the door was able to provide. You saw clothes scattered on the floor and heard giggling coming from the direction of the bedroom.

     There was something in your heart that felt like it...cracked. You let go of the door and let it fall shut. It felt like your body was on autopilot when you picked up the sheet and pillow from the floor that was thrown at you and began to slowly trudge to the elevator. Where were you going to go? You weren't going to sleep in the hallway. And you didn't even have the option of sleeping in Michael's car because he stole his keys back from you.

     Michael threw you out of your hotel room for a girl. A girl whose name he didn't even remember. You thought back to the conversation you had with him just last night.

_"Ever since high school my well has run dry."_

_"Definitely not as crazy as I was two years ago. And I don't think I will be again."_

_"All those small flings and month-long relationships meant nothing."_

_"I'm looking for something a little more meaningful. And long-term."_

     What a fucking liar.

     And to think you actually had feelings for him. To think you thought you actually had a chance with him.

     You felt your eyes begin to sting. _"Oh, hell no. I'm not gonna cry."_ You thought about him hugging you when he first saw you yesterday. Your eyes began to brim with tears. You thought about him complimenting you over dinner last night. You felt your mouth begin to tremble.

     Your autopilot body shakily pressed the down button on the elevator.

     You thought about how he ruffled your hair just that morning. Your vision of the elevator doors became blurry. You scrunched your eyes shut and clenched your jaw and felt the hot and angry tears finally spill down your cheeks. You began to fucking lose it. Against your control, you felt a sob rip from your throat. You pushed your face into the pillow that was thrown at you in attempt to get some source of comfort. You caught a whiff of the smell on it. You recognized that it was Michael's fucking cologne. He must have just torn this off of his bed without thinking. The familiar smell only made you more furious and cry harder. There was no turning back now.

     You vaguely heard the elevator ding and the doors slide open. But you were too busy sniffling and whimpering. Who gives a shit about the elevator. At this point, not you.

     You heard a shuffling sound from inside the elevator and froze. Oh, great. Someone was watching you have an emotional breakdown. Fan-fucking-tastic. You slowly looked up and rubbed at your teary eyes to see who it was. It felt like you stopped breathing at that point when you saw who was standing there. Why fucking now of all times. Oh no. Oh no no no nononononono.

     "Are you okay?" 


	5. Just a fan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for the longest elevator ride of your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where I do the thing. Enjoy, my babies! 
> 
> [F/N] = First name  
>  [L/N] = Last name

_      "Are you fucking kidding me." _ You thought to yourself as kind brown eyes behind black rimmed glasses looked over you. Mark Edward Fischbach stood a mere few feet away inside the elevator. He was dressed in his red and black checkered flannel that you are so used to seeing in videos and he carried a string backpack on his broad shoulders. His hair was slightly disheveled and he looked exhausted. He must have just drove home from the convention.

     Of course it's Mark of all people who would find you of all times. You breathed in a shaky breath, trying to calm yourself down between your raging emotions towards Michael and the shock from seeing one of your role models standing so close right in front of you in person. It felt like you were frozen. How does one even begin to react in this situation?

     "Are...are you okay?" He asked again. He took a cautious step towards you like you were some kind of scared animal. He put his hand against the elevator door so it wouldn't suddenly close. You realized that you didn't even respond.

     "...I...I...." was all you could get out. You wiped at your teary eyes again. It felt like both your heart and gut were trying to perform a circus act together. You suddenly realized that he was looking you up and down with a mixed look of surprise and concern. You looked down at yourself to see what he was looking at and saw what you were wearing. Jesus Christ, how could you even forget. You were wearing your Markiplier shirt, the design was in plain view for him to see. He knew that you were a fan now. "...fuck..." You slowly breathed out. This can't be happening. You blinked hard and finally found your voice. You looked straight at Mark. "...I..." You closed your eyes and shook your head at yourself in disbelief of the whole situation. "...I'm so sorry. I'm going to go now." You decided, sniffling a bit. You slowly began to turn on your heel. Until,

     "W-whoa, wait a minute!" Mark stepped a little bit out of the elevator towards you. You stared at him in surprise. What was he...? "Don't let the fact that it's me stop you from using the elevator. I'm just a normal dude, alright?" He said, gesturing to himself. "And besides, it looks like you need some help." It sounded as if he was trying to make himself not seem so intimidating. You took a moment to look back in the direction of your hotel room and then back at Mark. You took a steady breath from your nose in attempt to help yourself think straight. You finally nodded. You took a few unsure steps toward the elevator's entrance, Mark moving aside to let you in. He stepped in as well, finally letting the doors close.

     You were in an elevator all alone with Mark. The Markiplier. This would be totally the most fucking awesome situation in the entire world if it wasn't for the current set of circumstances.

     Your shaky hand hovered over the floor buttons, but you had no idea what to push. Where were you going to go? You didn't think that far ahead. You balled up your hand that was near the buttons into a tight fist and you bit your bottom lip hard. You could practically feel Mark's questioning gaze burning holes into you as he stood at your side. After a moment, he finally broke the silence.

     "Do you know where you're going?" He gently asked. You shook your head no, not really trusting your voice at the moment. Another beat of silence passed before Mark tried again with another question. "What hotel room are you looking for? Or...do you have one?" he tried to understand your situation without prying too much. You bit the inside of your cheek, wanting to form an answer in your head before trying to say anything. You took a breath.

     "I-I do have a hotel room but...my roommate, he...my roommate kicked me out." You finally confessed, looking Mark in the eyes and then quickly shifting your gaze back to the floor. His expression was a combination of sympathy for you and disgust towards Michael.

     "Why did he kick you out?" He softly asked. You could tell that his full attention was on you.

     "Because..." you could feel yourself start to tremble again. The incident and emotion was fresh in your mind. You shakily breathed in before saying. "...My roommate got drunk at the convention. H-he met some girl whose name he doesn't even know and took her back to the hotel room with us." You took a moment to pause before saying the next part. "He fucking shoved me out of the room and told... told me to sleep in the hallway and then he locked the door in my face." You closed your eyes. You could feel the storm approaching behind your eyelids. "He doesn't care about me."

     Your voice cracked as you said this. You whispered that last sentence more to yourself as an afterthought, completely forgetting for a split second that Mark was there. A few tears slipped down your cheeks. Shit, you were beginning to cry again. And in front of Mark. You refused to look at him. Your face flushed with embarrassment. You tried to hold it in but it only made it harder. _"Fuck, fuck, fuckfuckfuck..."_ you felt the bottled up sobs racking inside your ribcage. Seriously, fuck today. Just fuck today. Fu--

     You felt a strong arm wrap around you from your side. Your cheek pressed against something firm. Wh-what the...

     Mark was hugging you.

     It took you a bit to realize it, but that's what was happening. He was hugging you. And you didn't even ask. He did it by himself. Mark Fischbach hugged  _ you _ .

     You dropped the pillow and sheet because fuck them, that's why. You turned into Mark's embrace completely and clung to him. He had one arm around your back securely and his other hand rested on the back of your head, his fingers carding through your hair. Your face was pressed against his torso as you finally released your bottled up emotions. He didn't say a word as he did this. He securely held you and made shushing sounds, gently rocking the two of you side to side.

     Michael didn't fucking care about you. You've known him for five years now. Yet he locked you out and basically told you to fuck off while he fooled around. But Mark? He literally just met you not even a few minutes ago. He doesn't even know your name. Yet, here he was. Giving you more attention and comfort than Michael ever offered in the duration of your friendship. It was kinda funny in a way if you thought about it. You've been watching Mark on YouTube for over a year now, and for quite some time he's been your main source of comfort and laughter when life became frustrating or when you had a shitty day. Have nothing to do? Pull up a Markiplier video. School being stressful? Markiplier was there. Parents fighting? Put in your ear buds and Mark's voice always drowned out everything else and happily greeted you.

     And here he is now, doing the same thing that he has been doing for you. Being there for you when no one else was.

     By now your crying has dissolved into hiccups. You tried to make yourself breathe steadily. You pulled back your head a bit, your hands still maintaining a death grip on his arms.

     "I got your shirt all wet."

     "Shh, no, it's ok. I don't care." His gentle voice reassured. You still hated yourself for doing it but you nodded anyways. You let your forehead drop to his chest as your wobbly breathing shook you. He rubbed soothing circles on your back. You vaguely thought to yourself that this was the longest elevator ride ever.

     As if on cue, the elevator dinged and the doors opened on Mark's floor. Mark shifted his gaze to the open door, thinking. After a beat of consideration it seemed like he finally came to a conclusion in his mind. Much to your reluctance, he finally unwrapped his arms from around you. You took this as a sign and released your hold on his arms. He gently took your hand in his.

     "Come with me." He said.

     Wait, what?

     He began to tug you out of the elevator and into the hallway. You somewhat noted that you left behind the pillow and bedsheets on the elevator floor. But you didn't really care because in a way it felt like you were leaving Michael behind.

     Having Mark lead you down a hallway by hand felt like some sort of fever-induced dream. Like...was this really happening? Was this real? Because it sure as hell felt real. And if it really wasn't and it was actually a dream either end it now so you wouldn't be as disappointed later or never wake up again.

     Suddenly Mark came to a stop, as did you. He stood in front of a door. You watched him take his other hand that wasn't holding yours and he reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a keycard. Your eyebrows furrowed. It didn't take an Einstein to piece together what he was doing. This wasn't right. You can't believe you actually did what you did next. You let go of Mark's hand. He looked back at you, surprised.

     "No." You said. You finally found your voice. Mark seemed confused. You continued, "Mark, no. I can't, you shouldn't. This is way too nice of an offer to be giving me. I...I'm just a  fan _. _ " You tried to reason. There was some part in the back of your mind that was screeching at you, not believing that you were refusing the opportunity to say in Markiplier's hotel room when he's the one offering. Any fan, girl or boy, would kill to be in your situation. He tilted his head, staring at you.

     "Well...fan or not, I feel like I just can't let someone go a night without having any place to sleep." He tried to reason back. You honestly couldn't believe this was happening. Was he just the biggest angel in the world or was he insane? Probably both. You laughed to yourself in disbelief.

     "A-are you nuts? What if I'm some kind of...crazy psycho fan and I try to kill you in your sleep or something?"

     "No offense," he started, "but I'm pretty sure I can take you on if you tried." He laughed a bit to himself, but then he went back to being a little more serious. "Or...you could just call it intuition." He shrugged a bit. He was being totally serious about this.

     "Mark, for Christ sake, I'm a stranger to you. You...don't even know my  _ name! _ " That  was your last argument. You stood there, waiting for an answer.

     "Okay then. What's your name?"

     "W-what?"

     "You said that we're strangers. So let's not be strangers anymore." He said this with a soft and inviting smile. He held out his hand towards you. You stared at the gesture with wide eyes. "My name is Mark Edward Fischbach. What's your name?"

     This guy was way more stubborn than you thought. You sighed. Unbelievable. It was hard, but you gave up and just accepted it. You lifted up your hand and slipped it into his waiting one. Your fingers wrapped around each other, firmly grasping. You saw that he began to grin a little. This smug asshole knew that he won. You're honestly glad that he did.

     "My...my name is [F/N] [L/N]. And...it's really nice to finally meet you." You eventually said. You shook hands with him.

     "Well, [F/N] [L/N], it's really nice to finally meet you too." His grip lingered there for a bit before you two let go. He flashed a beautiful smile, showing off his teeth. This caused you to smile as well. He turned around and took out his keycard again and slipped it into the slot under the door handle, making the light under it beep and turn green, unlocking the room's door. He turned back to you.

     "Please, come in."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the thing.


	6. Late night thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, you're in Markiplier's hotel room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always,
> 
> [Y/N]= Your name  
> Italics= your thoughts
> 
> Thank you so much and enjoy!

     Mark led you into his hotel room. It felt weird to say it, but imagine how weird it is when it really happened to you. The room was very similar to your own, but it was a little bigger and only meant for one person. You heard the door fall shut behind you and the environment really set in on you. Wow...you were in Markiplier's hotel room.

     "Okay, so the bed and bathroom is through this door." Mark pointed and walked towards it. You followed as he entered the bedroom. "You'll be sleeping here tonight." He stated. You looked up at him confused.

     "Wait, what?" You asked. There was only one bed. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

     "The couch." Mark said this as if it was no big deal. You began to shake your head,

     "Whoa, hold up, no. I should be the one sleeping on the couch. This is your room--"

     "Nooooope, it has already been decided." He interrupted you, holding up a finger. He then grinned and crossed his arms. "Nothing you can say or do to convince me otherwise." There's no use fighting him as you previously found out. You once again accepted defeat. You sighed but smiled softly, looking away.

     "...Thank you." You said a little quietly, but completely grateful of the kind gesture.

     "No problem at all." He walked over to his luggage that was all pushed into one corner of the room and began to rummage through it and pulled out some sleeping clothes and a small travel pouch that was probably for his bathroom stuff. "But if you don't mind, I'm just gonna get ready for bed. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. You should get ready too...if you want, that is. I won't tell you how to live your life." He shrugged. You let out a small laugh,

     "Nah, you're right. I should sleep." You slowly sat down on the bed. Mark stared at you as if he was thinking about something. He then got a look of realization and walked back over to his luggage, digging through it again. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of sweat pants and tossed them right next to you on the bed.

     "I just realized that you don't have any sleeping clothes on you so...yeah." He explained. "They'll probably be a little big on you but they should work." Was this guy seriously for real right now? He was really giving you his own clothes to wear. "Oh, and they're clean; I promise." He laughed a bit. You looked up at him,

     "Thank you so much." You were honestly touched by this.

     "It's nothing, really." He waved it off as if he did this every day of his life. How was it possible to be this nice to a stranger that you just met? "But yeah, I'm gonna get ready for bed now." He said, making his way to the bathroom and closing the door. You took this time to get ready too.

     You shrugged off your backpack, stripped off your clothes, folded them and set them aside. You then pulled on the ones that Mark gave you. After marvelling at the fact that you were really wearing his clothes, you examined yourself. You knew he was right when he said that they would probably be a little bit big on you, but damn. The blue shirt had the word "Boundless" on it in white and there were big letters that read EXP in the middle below it. was pretty roomy but comfortable, and you actually recognized it from some of his videos. And you had to pull and tie the drawstring on the gray sweat pants so they wouldn't slide down, but other than that they weren't too much of a bad fit. And...oh god, what was that. You took some of the blue fabric of the shirt between your fingers and lifted it up to your nose and sniffed. He was right, they were clean there was no doubt about it, but there was something about the smell that was so uniquely Mark. It was the same smell from when he hugged you in the elevator. Whether it was from cologne or body wash, you couldn't tell, but whatever it was made you melt on the inside.

     You looked at yourself in the full-body mirror that hung on the wall and shook your head. Jesus Christ. You looked like a little kid who raided their parents closet. You didn't think you were that much smaller compared to him but...

     You turned around at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Mark was also dressed in sleep clothes. He took one glance at you and got a strange look on his face. He was trying his hardest to suppress a smile but was tragically failing.

     "What?" You asked, not being able to help but grin a bit at the look on his face.

     "I- I just..." He stared for a moment longer before commenting "...you just look so tiny." He said. You could almost hear the 'awww' from his tone of voice. You rolled your eyes and began to blush hard. You were very well aware of what that meant. He was basically calling you cute. "Okay, yeah, so the bathroom's free." He suddenly said, making his way to the bedroom's exit. "I'll be right out here on the couch. Don't be afraid to ask for anything, okay?" He said. You nodded, still really flushed from his reaction. "Alright then...goodnight, [Y/N]." his voice dipped a little lower when he said this. And dammit if velvet had a sound, that was it right there and it was all you wanted to hear for the rest of your life.

     "G-goodnight." You said back, waving your hand at him a bit before he nodded and closed the door behind him. You were alone now. You ran a hand through your hair and plopped down on the bed. There was absolutely no way to describe the day you had. Michael treated you like garbage...but then one of your biggest role models ever took you in and treated you with an immeasurable amount of kindness. You were living a fan's biggest wet dream and you had no clue how to take it.

     You lifted up the covers and crawled in, burrowing yourself into the comforter and pillows. After a bit of thought you finally decided to yourself that there really was no proper way to take this whole situation.

      _"I've just got to...take it all in stride. Yeah."_ You said to yourself. You closed your eyes and decided that there was no better choice at the moment than to just sleep on it.  
_________________

     It was 2 in the god damn morning according to the clock on your phone. You haven't gotten any sort of sleep at all. usually when you couldn't sleep you would watch Markiplier videos on your phone until you did, but the fact that the actual person behind the videos was literally outside the door, it just didn't feel right. You know how when you can't sleep and your mind decides to think about the worst possible bullshit at that moment? Yeah, that was happening now.

     You first thought about Michael and started to get a little teary again. But then the more you thought about him, you became less sad and heartbroken and more fucking pissed off. How _fucking dare_ he treat you like that. Drunk or not, he had no excuse to do that to you. What a dickhead. How on earth could you have not seen this coming from him? You've known the guy for seven years for crying out loud! How could you pretend that things he did in the past didn't happen?

     You thought back to sophomore year in high school when you really started to hear some shit about him. You guys had the same circle of friends so it wasn't unusual to hear people talking about him from time to time. Constant bad relationships, a rumor that during one of them that he cheated, drunk one night stands, a DUI during senior year, just some stupid teenager shit that you hear everywhere. But yet you always just brushed it off because hell, none of that shit ever involved you, right?

     And then there was Mark. This is definitely not how you imagined meeting him would go. You know he really meant it when he said that taking you in and letting you sleep in his hotel room wasn't a big deal at all but...you couldn't help but think that you were bothering him and just causing him problems during a time when he was there for both work and a good time away from home, not taking care of a fan. For fucks sake, he's sleeping on a couch instead of a bed now because of you. How can you not feel guilty?

     Your head started to ache. This was way too much thinking and emotion for one night. You groaned to yourself and closed your eyes again. You had to think about this situation rationally instead of like a fan. Mark was a real person and you had to think of him like that and treat him as such. What would you do if this wasn't Mark? What if this was a stranger, what would you do then?

     You made a decision. You would wake up early in the morning and sneak out. And then somehow get into your old hotel room and take back your stuff and just...leave. Get a cab or something and just go. You couldn't stand the thought of possibly being a burden to someone you looked up to, and you didn't even want to deal with Michael right now or ever again. You started to feel sleep finally take over. It was decided.

     You were leaving in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I originally wrote this chapter it came out SUPER long. So I cut it in half and made it into two! It's much shorter than I intended to give you guys but I just *clenches fist* fucking love cliffhangers.


	7. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after you meet your idol, you decide that you must leave by sneaking out. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WASSUP ASSHOLES, THIS FIC IS NOT DEAD
> 
> Nah, but in all seriousness, I am really deeply sorry. I in no way intended to not update for so long. And to be honest, I don't have an excuse for it. I just got stuck on this one part (you can probably guess what it is when you read it), and when I get stuck on something and don't know what to do, I usually shut down on it. But I refused to put it down. I dunno, maybe because I've been working on this story for a while or maybe because it's 2AM and i get weirdly sentimental and emotional about things late at night for no reason-- but I'm not quitting this story until it's done. I made some promise to myself that I'm not quitting this like I do to a lot of projects. And hell, maybe I sound dumb right now because I'm rambling in one big paragraph and run-on sentences trying to explain why there hasn't been a chapter update in a long ass time and I'll see this tomorrow and want to delete it because it's probably embarrassing, but oh my lord i just don't give a damn right now. 
> 
> tl;dr I'm pulling this fic out of its grave and the police can't stop me.
> 
> Tell me in the comments what a piece of shit I am!
> 
> [Y/N]= Your name  
> Italics= Your thoughts  
> And there's some extra stuff thrown in there too, you'll see.
> 
> Love you!!

     You woke up at 6:30 the following morning. You rubbed at your tired eyes and sighed heavily. It felt like you got no sleep at all. You wanted nothing more than to just go back under the covers and hide from the world but you had to get ready to leave. You crawled out of the bed and reluctantly stripped off the sleep clothes that Mark let you wear and folded them as neatly as you could, and then put back on your own clothes from the day before. You slipped on your shoes and backpack and headed for the door. A negative feeling swelled up inside your stomach. What is he going to think when he wakes up and sees that you're gone? The fact that you just up and left without saying anything? Hell, even _you_ couldn't believe that you were leaving when this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity seemed to just fall in your lap. But this wasn't right. You pushed down your unpleasant thoughts. You couldn't think about them right now. 

     You had to be quiet. You just needed to sneak out as quickly as possible without waking up Mark. _"You can do this. Deep breath. Okay, multiple deep breaths. No don't hyperventilate. You have to stay calm."_ You reached for the doorknob. Oh god your hand was shaking. _"No, no, no. You got this. You got this. Just...fuck it!"_

     You twisted the doorknob as softly as you could so you wouldn't make much noise. The door opened smoothly and silently. Alright, everything is going well so far. You quickly stepped out and--

     "Good morning!" Greeted a very chipper voice that shouldn't even exist at 6 in the morning.

     "Shit!!" You yelped and jumped back a bit. What the fuck!?

     "Whoa, whoa!" Mark got up from where he was seated on the couch and made his way to you. "Oh god did I scare you? I'm so sorry." He said, guilt and concern written all over his face. He was still in his shirt and pajama bottoms. What the hell was he doing up this early in the morning?! You took a glance at the coffee table that he was sitting in front of and saw his laptop on it up and running. Oh...he was probably editing or uploading a video. Shit, you didn't even take that possibility into consideration. You actually wanted to punch yourself in the face at that moment, but then you realized that you didn't even respond to him yet.

     "O-oh, no, you didn't do anything wrong! I overreacted. I..." You could barely think of proper words. Your thoughts were more along the lines of " _Oooohhhh shit. Shit, shit, shit."_  at the moment. You got caught. There's no way that you could possibly leave now. Hell, you don't even think that you could go even if you wanted to. If you thought you felt guilty last night, it didn't even compare to what you were feeling right now as he stared at you with a confused look. Fuck punching yourself in the face, you wanted a category 5 hurricane to suddenly appear and whisk you away from this situation; was that too much to ask? Your eyes were wide with resentment and it felt like your hands were shaking up a storm. Mark seemed to notice.

     "Hey, [Y/N], are you okay?" He asked. You didn't want to, but you looked up at him with regret-filled eyes. He then realized something. He saw that you were dressed and that you had your shoes and backpack on. You could practically see him piecing it together in his head. You had to explain yourself.

     "M-Mark...I'm sorry." was all you blurted out. "I...I just..." dammit, you were drawing a blank now.

     "Yes?" He said a little slowly, trying to coax you to talk more. His expression turned to one of worry. You took a moment and nervously swallowed before uttering,

     "...It's nothing that you did, I just...feel so guilty." You admitted. You were wringing your fingers and your legs felt like jelly. You took a few steps towards the couch and sat down and looked at the ground.

     "Why do you feel guilty?" He sat next to you so you guys could be on the same level instead of him standing and towering over you. You're not sure if this increased closeness comforted or intimidated you.

     "Because I--" okay, okay, you could do this. Just calmly explain. "--because I feel like I'm bothering you." You finally looked up at him. "I really want to stay and this opportunity is literally the coolest thing to ever happen to me; but I feel like I'm getting in your way. You're here to work and meet up with fans; and I feel like I'm ruining that. Hell, you're sleeping on the couch in your own hotel room!" You let out a sigh through your nose and closed your eyes. "I just...look up to you way too much to be a problem for you. So I was just gonna get my stuff from my old hotel room and just...leave..." you said quietly, your voice trailing off. You didn't dare look at him, you felt too ashamed to. But after a moment of silence you began to clench your fists. He hasn't responded yet. Not even a word. Why wasn't he saying anything? Oh no, was he upset? Angry? Oh god if he was either of those you don't think you would be able to bare it. What--

     You felt a hand gently touch your back and you went stiff. You opened your eyes and turned to face him, confusion evident on your face. Mark did not show any signs of being angry or upset with you like you feared. Instead, he had a soft smile.

     "I can assure you that you're not being a bother to me in the slightest." He said. You could think that he was just saying that so you wouldn't feel bad; but you could sense the raw honestly in his voice. "I don't mind you being here, I don't mind you sleeping in the bed, and I absolutely couldn't leave you stranded after what your roommate did to you." He paused for a moment. "However...I do mind about your comfort. Hell, that's the most important thing to me. So if you feel uncomfortable about all this and want to go, I can't and won't stop you. But, personally..." he turned his gaze away from you. "...I don't feel comfortable with you going back to where your roommate is and possibly dealing with him. And you already invested so much money into going to this convention." You could feel his thumb making soft strokes on your back. He looked back at you. "You had quite a shitty day yesterday. And I can't help but want to make that up for you." He said sincerely. "But...it's your call."

     Your heart was absolutely fluttering. He really didn't think that you were being a burden. This talk with Mark honestly felt like it helped relive an enormous amount of pressure from your chest. You really wanted to just jump on him and give him a huge hug and start crying again and all that; but instead you just bit your bottom lip to contain all of these emotions and put your head down before saying,

     "...I really want to stay here." You finally said. You looked back at him "I would really like that a lot. M-Mark...thank you." you were almost shaking with relief and you found yourself being able to smile a bit. Mark was smiling now too. You felt his hand move from your back to your shoulder and he squeezed it a bit.

     "Of course, you're always welcome. And that's really nice to hear. Because honestly, it's kinda nice having someone else with me on these trips." He said, removing his hand from your shoulder.

     "What, really?" You raised an eyebrow at him.

     "Yeah, really." He shrugged. "Like, I meet a lot of people, duh, and I hang out with friends like Bob and Wade and stuff but...after a while when you've been to so many conventions and going back and forth in a car or on a plane to meet crowds of amazing people, it kinda gets you down at the end of the day when you're walking back to your hotel room by yourself. It gets lonely sometimes." He admitted, leaning back into the couch. "So, this is kind of a nice change." He said with a little grin. You really didn't know how to respond. There was a lull of silence for a moment that you felt like you had to break after that emotional rollercoaster. You suddenly stood up.

     "I think I should go get my stuff from my old hotel room." You decided. After all, you couldn't wear the same clothes for two days in a row.

     "Do you want me to go with you?" Mark offered. "You know, just in case if your roommate gives you trouble?" You let out a little chuckle.

     "Hah, thank you, but I don't think that'll be necessary. You keep working on your video." You said as you took off your backpack. You didn't intend to take it with you. "Besides, with the night that he had, I don't think he'll be waking up anytime soon." You said with an unintentional bitter tone.

     "Oh...alrighty, if you say so." Mark agreed and sat there for a moment before sitting up, "Oh, [Y/N], you should take this with you." He grabbed for his wallet that was placed on the coffee table and he sifted through it before taking something out. He handed it to you and you took it. It was...a keycard? "They gave me two when I checked in. You take that one so you're able to leave and get back in whenever." He said, standing up and smiling a bit. "If something happens, you know where to run to. Okay?" You nodded, staring at the keycard. Even though you were already in his hotel room, having the card made you feel incredibly honored. It meant that he actually trusted you.

     "Thank you, Mark." You couldn't help but fiddle with the card in your hand.

     "No problem. You go get your stuff back." You nodded and made your way to the door. You waved at him a bit before you turned the door handle and stepped out of the room. Time to go get your shit without getting caught.

     You went to the elevator and pushed the down button. As you waited for it to arrive, you took one more look at the keycard and slipped it into your back pocket. It really surprised you that he trusted you enough to give you such access. You're not even sure if you would be able to do the same for someone if you were in Mark's position. When the doors opened, you stepped inside and pressed the button for your floor, which was a few stories down. The doors closed and you stood there. You found it a little hard to believe that you were standing in the exact same spot where you met Mark just last night. Shit, everything about this situation was hard to believe. It's like you're living out a fanfic scenario. As you were in your daze, the ding of the elevator stopping on your floor brought you back. The doors opened and you stepped out and made your way to your old room. As you got closer, you felt a wave of nervousness wash over you. That feeling where you started to doubt what you were doing and dreaded that things weren't going to go as planned.

     You stopped in front of the door. What if Michael was awake in there? You sure as hell did not want to deal with him. You were both angry and nervous at the thought of even talking to him. Your confidence began to dwindle. You put your ear up against the door and tried to listen. Listen for anything indicating if Michael was awake in there. You ended up hearing buttfuck nothing no matter how much you concentrated. You removed your ear from the door and took out your original keycard. Well, you can't just stand there all day. You inserted the keycard and heard the lock undo itself. You opened the door as quietly as possible.

     The first thing you noticed was that the chain lock wasn't on the door anymore. You actually completely forgot about it until now. Who removed it? You looked into the room and saw clothes still on the floor. You felt a pang of betrayal pump through your chest from remembering the same sight from last night. But there was something out of place about it. It was only Michael's clothes, no sign of that girl's clothes. What was her name? Shiloh? Shelby? Whatever, who cares. That wasn't important right now. You completely stepped in and closed the door softly. You tiptoed over to the adjoining bedroom and peeked in. You breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Michael's sleeping form in his bed. And what's this? No sign of that girl he was with at all. Holy shit, she must've bounced sometime during the middle of the night. That's why the chain lock was undone. For some reason you found that kind of funny in a twisted sort of way.

     You snuck into the room and began to grab for your stuff. You silently thanked the lord that Michael was completely covered in blankets because you're pretty sure he was au natural under there. He was snoring, he was absolutely out. He wasn't going to be waking up for quite a while as far as you were concerned. At one point you even dropped a shampoo bottle in the bathroom while you were gathering your stuff and he didn't even seem to flinch.

     All of your stuff was now packed away in your duffel. You slung it over your shoulder and began to walk out. You stopped at the doorway and took one last look at Michael. You vaguely thought about just doing something to him for revenge, like taking a pillow and just smothering him. It would be so easy. But you pushed away the violent thought. No, you shouldn't do anything to him while he was asleep. You had to be the bigger person, the mature one in this situation. So you maturely flipped him off with both hands before you finally made your leave from the hotel room.

      _"See ya, asshole."_  
__________

     You made your way back to Mark's room and used the keycard to unlock the door. The first thing that you noticed was that you did not see Mark anywhere. He was not at his computer and he wasn't in the bedroom when you took a peek through the open door. But after a moment, you became aware of the sound of running water. Ah, he was in the shower. You decided to take this time to change into a fresh set of clothes for the day. You put on a [pair of jeans or pants/skirt] and a [insert fandom here] shirt. You took a look at yourself in the bedroom mirror and decided that you looked hella cute and ready for the day. You turned when you heard the door to the bathroom open. You didn't even notice the shower turn off.

     Mark walked out completely dressed minus his glasses and scrubbing a towel through his damp hair. He removed the towel and his hair stood out at various angles, it was as if the floof was back. It looked looked incredibly comical and adorable, really. He finally put on his glasses and stared at you with a bit of surprise, finally acknowledging your presence.

     "Oh, hey." He smiled "I didn't even hear you come back. Did you get your stuff back okay?" he asked, putting the towel over his shoulders. You nodded.

     "Yeah, I got it, no trouble." You assured "Heh. Nice hair." You giggled. You couldn't help but acknowledge it.

     "Oh, this?" he pointed at the mess "Yeah, it's pretty schweet, huh?" He said back without missing a beat. He waltzed over to his luggage and began to search for something, he pulled out a comb. "So, was your roommate there?" his tone turned a little serious. It took you aback a bit but you answered back.

     "Oh...yeah. He was completely knocked out though. So I had no problem, luckily."

     "That's good to hear." His voice went back to a more lighter tone. He turned to face the bedroom mirror and started to run the comb through his hair.

     What was that just now? It sounded like he was almost pissed. But then it was as if he flipped a switch and went back to normal. If you were to take a blind guess, you would say that Mark was just as furious at Michael as you were. Almost any time Michael was mentioned, Mark got a displeased look on his face. It was strange to think that Mark would get mad, aside from rage videos, because he always seemed so nice and cheery. You couldn't really blame him though, Michael pulled a real dick move last night it really fucked you over. There was silence.

     ...Until your stomach growled. Loud. Welp. Your face went pink. You turned and looked over at Mark to see if he noticed. You saw him looking away from the mirror and right at you.

     "When's the last time you ate?" He asked. Yep, he noticed. You tried to push away your embarrassment and thought back to yesterday. Shit, you really haven't properly eaten in a while.

     "Uhhh...I didn't have dinner, so...yesterday at three?" You thought out loud.

     "Three!?" He exclaimed, startling you a little. "You must be starving. Hey, breakfast just opened up a little while ago downstairs. Let's go get some food in you, yeah?" He suggested. You perked up a bit and nodded in agreement, that sounded so good right now. He smiled at the glint of excitement that you got on your face at the mention of food. "Heh, ok, just gimmie a minute to fix up this disaster area and we can get going."  
___________

     You two took the elevator and headed downstairs for the breakfast buffet that the hotel provided. It was about 7 in the morning, but there were a few people already there and eating. Most likely families on vacation and people who were there for business purposes. When you first set foot in there you caught the smell of [Your favorite breakfast food]. Your eyes grew a little wide.

     "Oh hell yeah." You instantly thought, setting off to get a plate and wait in line. After filling your plate and getting a drink, you and Mark settled into a table, sitting across from each other. You took your fork and started to cut at your food and took a bite. After not eating for a long ass time, this was like a gift from the gods. Though, you restrained yourself from completely annihilating the meal on your plate due to Mark being there. In a way this kinda felt like a weird date. You guys ate your breakfast in mutual silence.

     "So, what do you do?" he suddenly asked. You looked up at him.

     "What?" you asked, covering your mouth with your hand as you chewed. For some reason you didn't expect conversation as you guys ate.

     "What do you do?" He repeated with a little smile. "Like, where do you work, what do you study in school, or even your hobby." He shrugged, taking a bite of his meal. Oh, duh. Of course that's what he meant. "I just find it a bit unfair that you probably know quite a bit about me while I don't know know anything about you apart from your name." He took a sip of his coffee and set his mug down. "Of course, if you prefer not to say, that's cool too." You shook your head,

     "Oh no, you're right, it's not really fair." You laughed a bit. "Uhh, well, I work part time at [your job here]. But I'm a full time student at California State University in LA. And I'm a junior studying [your study of interest here]."

     "[Your study of interest]? Hey, that's really cool!" He praised, genuine interest showing.

     "Heh, you think so?"

     "Yeah, it totally is!" A smile suddenly overcame your face. You felt all giddy inside that someone you looked up to honestly thought that what you did was even remotely cool.

     "Have any more questions about me, stranger?" You jokingly asked. You were still nervous as hell when it came to having a normal conversation with him, but you felt it gradually fading. It was kinda great to just casually talk to him. It was as if you were more like his friend rather than a fan at the moment.

     "Hah, nah. I'm good for now, my curiosity has been satisfied for the time being." He laughed a bit. He sat forward and put his elbows on the table. "It's really nice to hear you talk though." You tilted your head a bit, surprised. What...what did that mean? You would be lying if you said that statement didn't catch you off guard. He spoke up again, "It's just that you've been kinda quiet since we met. Not like I can blame you though. I mean, no doubt that it's probably super weird or even nerve wracking to be suddenly rooming with someone who you're used to watching online." He smiled sincerely. "I'm just hoping to help you feel more comfortable about this, is all." All you could do was stare at him. And when you realized that's all you were doing you put your head down, blushing a bit.

     "Well, you're doing a great job. And I honestly can't thank you enough." You probably sounded like a parrot with how often you've been thanking him, but it seemed like your brain couldn't generate anything better. You saw Mark grin and open his mouth with the intention to reply, but his phone that was sitting on the table began to buzz.

     "Ugh. Shut up, phone." he swiped at the lock screen to see what it was; it was a text message "Oh, it's just Wade. Sorry, give me a second." He sarcastically grumbled, rolling his eyes for emphasis before reading the message. You couldn't help but giggle.

     "Nah, it's no problem, take your time." You assured. You poked and ate at the remnants of your breakfast before you looked up and watched Mark's eyebrows raise before he replied to Wade's text. He then gently placed his phone back down on the table.

     "Okay, I lied. I have another question."

     "Yeah?"

     "Yeah. Now, it's okay if you say no." He sat up a bit in his seat. Okay, whenever someone starts a question off like that, how could you not get nervous? Oh god, where is he going with this. "As you probably know, Bob and Wade are also here for the convention." You nodded. You were aware that there was going to be a panel with all three of them tomorrow evening. "Well, we've been planning on having dinner with each other tonight after having fan meet-n-greet with all three of us. But some last-minute convention issues got in the way for both of them, but we already made a reservation. So, with that being said..." You nodded again, but a little slower this time. It was completely and totally obvious where this was going, but it still felt like your heart was going to forcefully Falcon Punch its way out of your rib cage when he actually asked. "...would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this fic most likely won't have a set update schedule, if you couldn't already tell. Things will gradually come as I write them and hopefully won't take as long as this did.


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